To me it's all about "moments"; that tiny, fleeting cameo as you glance at each other after your vows, the cheesey joke in the address that everyone laughs at anyway... and the child who's got just a little bit bored of the whole thing.
Most of all, though, your wedding is simply the most important day ever in your lives, and that's what I try to capture. Here's a four minute film of me at a recent wedding, here's a downloadable pdf of my top ten wedding shots, with some tips for brides and here's my downloadable pricelist.
My daily rate is £550, for coverage from as early as you like, up to the start of your wedding breakfast. This includes a digital slideshow of 50-150 images (depending on the size of your wedding), cropped, ordered and retouched to provide the complete story of your day. It's on a keydrive and the copyright is yours, so you can print, copy and Facebook them to your heart's content. And it will also be on my website for as long as you like.
It will be delivered to you, after your honeymoon, as high resolution images, along with all the supporting shots (another 50-200 images). For coverage beyond the start of your wedding breakfast, (to include, for instance, speeches, cutting of the cake and your first dance) then my extended rate is £80/hour and some food.
If you just want a couple of hours coverage, and are getting married in or around Ely, then my short term rate is £120/hour - for weekdays and Saturdays out of season.
For a college wedding (and some churches) where it's often not possible to move around during the ceremony, I also offer, for a daily rate of £150, a second photographer to give you the long dramatic shots from the back as well as the close-ups from the front. This also allows more complete coverage before the ceromony; of guests arriving, while the bride (or groom) are preparing (or boozing!).
Albums or prints can be pre-ordered and paid for with the booking (which makes them cheaper) or ordered afterwards. As an example, coverage up to the start of your wedding breakfast and 25 A5 prints would be £700. Click here for my full price list.
"Dear Mike We were so lucky to have asked you to be the photographer for our daughter's wedding on August 22nd 2009. We liked your unobtrusive manner - the formal shots were done and dusted so efficiently, without the congregation having to wait a long time before their drinks. The bride hates having photos taken, but the clever way you managed to get her to relax during her preparation of hair etc just made her forget all about it - indeed, I think it helped her enjoy the service all the more.
You made the day. Rather than being someone who kept interrupting events, you just went with the flow and captured some amazing moments. The full group shot was organised beautifully - you gave everyone time to chat and drink, and then they all came together quite naturally. You were with us for ten hours, but never appeared daunted or tired. Many thanks - and I shall tell all my friends to book you early for their events!" Yvonne Williamson
"Youmaynowkissthebride provided us with an extremely professional and fun service. The wedding guests loved having Mike around and we got a lot of great comments about him. Mike worked extremely hard all day long to capture for us the most precious memories. The photos were amazing, he really captured the day to perfection. We were both at a loss for words, the wedding albums have totally exceeded our expectations." -Kim
"....nothing was too much trouble and Mike made us feel at ease the whole time he was taking the photos. He captured our guests in an informal way, which was exactly what we wanted. The pictures of ourselves were both formal and informal with a few joke ones thrown in for good measure. The pictures were excellent and captured the day beautifully in exactly the way we requested." -Roz and Rob
"Mike had a relaxed, informal style which was just what we were looking for on our wedding day. It put everyone at ease and ensured that everyone enjoyed having their photos taken...this got some great reactions! We have really enjoyed looking through all the wedding photos, which capture the day wonderfully and bring back all of the very happy memories. We would definitely recommend him to any future grooms / brides to be!" Marie and Chris